Ricky Santos is an American former gridiron football quarterback who is currently the head coach for the New Hampshire Wildcats football team. He played college football at New Hampshire, and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Ricky Santos will succeed legendary coach Sean McDonnell, his college coach, to become the 20th head coach at the University of New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of New Hampshire located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The team plays its home games at the 11,000 seat Wildcat Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire, and are led by head coach Sean McDonnell, who returned to the program after missing the 2019 season due to a medical issue. Coach McDonnell recently announced his retirement.
The 2009 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. New Hampshire competede as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) under head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. They won the North Division of the CAA with a 9–2 record.
Sean Patrick McDonnell is a retired college football coach and former player, best known for his tenure as head football coach at the University of New Hampshire.
The Colonial Clash was an annual college football rivalry game played between the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The two teams first played each other in 1897, and met annually from 1952 through 2011. The rivalry was branded as the Colonial Clash beginning in 2010. In 2012, UMass transitioned to the Football Bowl subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, leaving the future of the rivalry in question. In 74 playings, UMass has won 43 games, UNH has won 28 games, and there have been three ties. Beginning with the 1986 playing, the MVP of the game was awarded the Bill Knight Trophy.
The 2012 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 14th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 8–4, 6–2 in CAA play. Due to Old Dominion being ineligible for the CAA title, the Wildcats finished in a four way tie for the CAA championship. They received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs where they lost in the second round to Wofford.
The Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket is the name of the rivalry between the Maine Black Bears and the New Hampshire Wildcats. Both schools are members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Through the 2021 season, the two teams have met 111 times on the football field, with New Hampshire currently holding a 57–46–8 edge in the all-time series.
The 2013 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 10–5, 6–2 in CAA play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Lafayette, Maine, and Southeastern Louisiana to advance to the semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State.
The 2014 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 16th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 12–2, 8–0 in CAA play to win the CAA championship. They earned the CAA's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Fordham in the second round and Chattanooga in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals.
The 2010 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by 12th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in CAA play. They received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs where they lost in the quarterfinals to Delaware.
The 2008 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by 10th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in CAA play. They received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs where they lost in the quarterfinals to Northern Iowa.
The 2007 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by ninth-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 7–5, 4–4 in CAA play. They received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Northern Iowa.
The 2006 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by eight-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire. They were a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) and moved to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) following the conclusion of the season. They finished the season 9–4 overalla nd 5–3 in A–10 play. They received an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs where they lost in the quarterfinals to UMass.
The 2015 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 17th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the first round to Colgate.
The 2016 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 18th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Wildcat Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in CAA play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Lehigh in the first round before losing in the second round to James Madison.
The 2017 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 19th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Wildcat Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 9–5, 5–3 in CAA play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Central Connecticut and Central Arkansas before losing in the quarterfinals to South Dakota State.
The 2018 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 20th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Wildcat Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 4–7, 3–5 in CAA play to finish in ninth place.
The 2019 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by interim head coach Ricky Santos, due to longtime head coach Sean McDonnell taking a leave of absence for medical reasons. The team played their home games at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats finished the season 6–5 overalla nd 5–3 in CAA play to tie for third place.
The 2020 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by 21st-year head coach Sean McDonnell following his leave of absence due to medical reasons during the 2019 season. The Wildcats have played their home football games at Wildcat Stadium since 1936, and have competed in college football as an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) since 2007.
The 2021 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats, led by 22nd-year head coach Sean McDonnell, played their home games at Wildcat Stadium.
